Four years ago, Simmons arrived on the Eastside as a counselor and noticed a group of students with musical talents. But there wasn't much space to experiment with music. "I said, 'This was a waste,' " she recalls.

Simmons and others found grant money and the school opened in November 2002. About 30 students, half of them girls and young women, now are enrolled.

Priscilla Christ, a 14-year-old Kirkland resident, has been a guitar student for about a year. She and Murphy are members of Dolly Done Good and will perform Saturday.

"It's for your soul. You can have a bad day and go home and write a song. And it's released," she says.

Mark Christ, 48, says he's happy his daughter has the opportunity to learn and meet musicians.

"I'm kind of jealous. As a kid, I played guitar. When I come home and hear her play, I say, 'I know that song,' " he says.

One Seattle-area guitarist, Dave Dederer of The Presidents of the United States of America, says music helped him express his thoughts as a student, and sees how Rock School can benefit local youths.

"It was a way to explore different feelings and perspectives and to give a name to those feelings," the Medina resident says. "Perhaps things you can't articulate as an adolescent or an adult."

Before the students practice, they listen to rock tunes -- Pearl Jam's "Do the Evolution" and Joan Jett's "I Hate Myself for Loving You" -- for a critique. Teachers, some wearing bandanas and dark clothing, ask the students to pay attention to distinct sounds, techniques and musical genres.

Julie Schwartz, a 33-year-old Seattle drummer, hopes her volunteer work at the school will help female musicians. She's been a musician for 17 years.

"Hopefully, if they see me, they'll be less apprehensive about getting on stage and doing what they love to do," says Schwartz, who played in the Seattle punk band Agent86.

Simmons says her students, especially the girls and young women, have grown with music in their lives. She also is a counselor at BEST High School and Northstar Junior High School, two alternative campuses in Kirkland.

"I see differences in their self-esteem and self-expression," she says. "I've seen how they interact with other students. They just jump in, and they're more assertive and vocal."